William Wadsworth "Dollar Bill" Wirtz (October 5, 1929 – September 26, 2007) was the chief executive officer and controlling shareholder of the family-owned Wirtz Corporation. He was best known as the owner of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League, who are part of Wirtz Corp's holdings. Wirtz also served as the Blackhawks' team president for over four decades.[1]

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Wirtz was raised in Chicago, Illinois by his father Arthur Wirtz and mother Virginia. He was known as a jovial kid with a big heart. He attended The Latin school of Chicago where he was a star athlete playing Football and Track. He was set to go to Princeton University after his senior year but decided to attend Brown University instead with his best friend. Wirtz graduated from Brown University In 1950.[2]

Wirtz (via his stake in the Wirtz Corporation) was most notable as owner of the Chicago Blackhawks; Wirtz Realty, a large real estate owner in Chicago; and Judge & Dolph Ltd., a major liquor distributor selling over 33 percent of all liquor in Illinois. Wirtz Corp. also has interests in banking and insurance, and co-owned the United Center with Jerry Reinsdorf. Crain's Chicago Business in 2004 estimated the company's 2003 revenues as US$1.3 billion. Overall, it is estimated that Bill Wirtz's personal holdings (including stock in several companies, including Alberto-Culver and Firstar Bank) were worth about US$3 to $4 billion.

Bill Wirtz was the team president of the Blackhawks for 41 years and served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the NHL for 18, helping to merge the NHL and the World Hockey Association during the 1970s. Wirtz spent most of the late 1990s and early 2000s rebuilding the Blackhawks organization through drafting. These down years helped the organization draft future stars such as Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and many other members of the 2010 and 2013 championship teams.[3]

As owner of the Blackhawks, Wirtz had a reputation for stubbornness and frugality, earning the nickname "Dollar" Bill.[4] He was vilified by Blackhawks fans for forbidding home games to be televised unless they were picked up by national broadcasters, which only happened when the Blackhawks made the playoffs. As Wirtz explained it, broadcasting regular-season home games was unfair to season-ticket holders.[5] For a short time during the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons, Wirtz introduced Hawkvision, a pay-per-view service that operated in conjunction with Chicago's local SportsChannel outfit, which cost $29.95 per month and broadcast Blackhawks home games.

Wirtz was also blamed for allowing Bobby Hull to leave the Blackhawks and the NHL for the World Hockey Association (although his father, Arthur Wirtz, was actually responsible for that decision).[4][6] Wirtz was further blamed for the loss of both Dominik Hašek and Ed Belfour, for trading Denis Savard in 1990, for the trade of Chris Chelios to Detroit (in actuality, Chelios had asked to be traded and gave approval to then-General Manager Bob Murray when told Detroit was the most interested team), for the trading of Jeremy Roenick, and for the 1967 trade of Phil Esposito.[4] Wirtz was also blamed for the Blackhawks' Stanley Cupdrought, which was the second longest in NHL history and the longest in team history.[4] Under the ownership of Wirtz, the Chicago Blackhawks were named by ESPN in 2004 as the worst franchise in sports.[7] In 2002, ESPN ranked Wirtz as the third greediest owner in all of sports.[8]

In 1999 the Illinois State Legislature passed the Wine and Spirits Fair Dealing Act, ("The Wirtz Law"). The bill was passed after more than $700,000 was contributed to politicians by liquor distributors according to the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. The law was on the books for less than three years before a U.S. district court judge struck it down on the grounds that it violated the commerce clause of the Constitution. Newspaper editorials at the time often called the Wirtz Law a corrupt document, and it has since become a case study for campaign finance reform.

Wirtz died at Evanston Hospital on September 26, 2007, following a brief battle with cancer. His son Peter Wirtz was named the new owner of the Blackhawks the following day; Peter Wirtz eventually passed responsibility to his brother Rocky.[9][10]

During a tribute and moment of silence for Bill Wirtz during the Blackhawks' home opener on October 8, 2007, the crowd booed the proceedings.[11]